Network Events

January Network Connection Meeting: Village Visioning

Children's Mental Health Storytimes Schedule 

Network Resources

The Breastfeeding Coalition Free Lactation Support 

You are pregnant and curious about breastfeeding? Struggling with breast pain or your newborn’s poor latch? Happily bottle-feeding your growing baby and interested in meeting other parents?

Join the Boston Breastfeeding Coalition’s virtual support groups and baby Cafes or call our tele-health lactation Warmline. We offer professional lactation counselling and support for anyone struggling with the ups and downs of parenting.

These sessions focus on breastfeeding and community support. You can access the link below by using the provided web address or pointing your phone’s camera at the QR code and clicking the resulting link.

The Boston Breastfeeding Coalition was formed under the umbrella of Boston Medical Centre’s Vital Village Networks in January 2016. The Coalition is working to improve access to breastfeeding support for every caregiver in Boston and promote social connections and optimal child enrichment in early life.

DRIVE Equity 2023 Scholarship

MBC’s DRIVE Committee is pleased to announce the opening of the application period for our 2023 Equity Scholarship. This scholarship is for the sitting fee for a 2023 IBLCE Exam (either Spring of 2023 IBLCE Exam - fee to be reimbursed, or Fall of 2023 IBLCE Exam - fee to be paid up front). 

Consistent with one of MBC’s primary goals of increasing diversity in the lactation field, our scholarship process will prioritize BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and individuals from other marginalized groups, but will not exclude anyone.



*Must be a Massachusetts Resident to apply.

Scholarship application period runs from 1/16/2023 through 2/28/2023.

Quality Improvement Project

A quality improvement project to better understand how to integrate Spanish-speaking cultural brokers into pregnancy care teams. This project aims to interview Spanish-speaking individuals who are currently pregnant or recently pregnant and have $50 gift cards to give each participant in appreciation for their time.

Pure Spark 

PureSpark was born out of Founder Nieisha Deed's passion to help others. Through this organization, she strives to bring hope to those who find themselves in a dark place. PureSpark seeks to cultivate the kind of mental wellness culture Nieisha craved when she was severely depressed and suicidal. PureSpark uses social media and our web interface to provide resources and daily coping mechanisms that would otherwise be out of reach for someone who is unfamiliar with the mental wellness system. While open to providing information for everyone, the organization’s focus is on Black women. Mental illness is often stigmatized in the black community, and it is common for black women to put themselves, as well as their mental wellness, last in order to help others.

Resources

Crisis Helplines:

Crisis Helplinesyourpurespark.com

Black Wellness Events :

Events Archiveyourpurespark.com

Black Wellness Providers:

Provider Databaseyourpurespark.com

Reproductive Justice and Health Equity - A Panel Discussion

Feb 28, 2023 10:00 AM

in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Description

Please join us for an important discussion with leaders in Reproductive Justice and Healthcare who are tackling racial health disparities both locally and nationally and creating models to support health equity.

Panelists will include:

Nashira Baril (Neighborhood Birth Center), Lilly Marcelin (Resilient Sisterhood Project), and Marisa Pizii (Collective Power for Reproductive Justice).

The conversation will be facilitated by Natanja Craig-Oquendo (Boston Women’s Fund). 

Breastfeeding Foundations for

Perinatal Health Workers

Lactation Education

Need Lactation Education Credits?

Lactation College Can Help

We provide online CERPs, CEUs, and CMEs with each of our courses.

USBC Peer Learning for Coalitions: Policy, Systems, and Environmental Strategies in the First Food Field

Collaborative learning formats bring diverse perspectives, experiences, and challenges to light, making it possible for leaders to consider other approaches and viewpoints. During this peer learning session, you’ll be paired with one or two other individuals to share and receive feedback on the policy, system, and environmental change work that your organization is involved in and the collaborative efforts you are leading or contributing to, to advance PSE strategies that support breastfeeding and human milk feeding.

The goals of this activity are to:

Supporting Queer & Trans Parents in their Lactation Goals

Featuring Licensed Midwife, Liam Kali (they/them)

Lactation and chest/breastfeeding are intensely embodied experiences that are deeply impacted by one’s gender identity. This workshop will explore the impact of queer and trans identity on lactation experiences and goals, including lactation induction in any body, chest feeding after masculinization surgery, and co-nursing.

Thursday, February 16, 2023 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM PST

Annual Black Maternal Health Conference 

Vital Village Network's Boston Breastfeeding Coalition is committed to improving access to breastfeeding support for every parent in Boston, promoting connections between individuals and organizations that engage in breastfeeding advocacy, and supporting pathways for professional lactation counselors.